Indians meditated and slept more over the Covid-19 lockdown: Fitbit data reveals | Wearables News

Indians meditated and slept more over the Covid-19 lockdown: Fitbit data reveals

While Indians slept the least among key APAC markets in 2019 and 2020, Covid-19 induced lockdown and following limited restrictions resulted in Indians sleeping 18 minutes more between March-August 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Aug 20 2022, 23:39 IST
For India, specifically, there was an uptick of 2,381% for meditation becoming the go-activity for Fitbit users here. Yoga witnessed a 241% spike as well.
For India, specifically, there was an uptick of 2,381% for meditation becoming the go-activity for Fitbit users here. Yoga witnessed a 241% spike as well. (Fitbit)
For India, specifically, there was an uptick of 2,381% for meditation becoming the go-activity for Fitbit users here. Yoga witnessed a 241% spike as well.
For India, specifically, there was an uptick of 2,381% for meditation becoming the go-activity for Fitbit users here. Yoga witnessed a 241% spike as well. (Fitbit)

All of us have been under various levels of lockdown since March and that has obviously affected our lives and our fitness routines. New global data from Fitbit has revealed that many of its users have embraced new activities to deal with the new normal.

The Fitbit research team compared population-level data from 2019 to 2020 by metrics including step count, active minutes, sleep patterns and activity types to see what differences the pandemic have driven in the Fitbit community.

Overall, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, research revealed that across APAC countries including India, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, The Philippines and Singapore stress-reducing activities like meditation and yoga gained popularity.

And it wasn't just yoga and meditation, the research team found that the majority of the activities that got very popular over this time were more or less consistent and associated with stress reduction.

For India, specifically, there was an uptick of 2,381% for meditation becoming the go-activity for Fitbit users here. Yoga witnessed a 241% spike as well.

While Indians slept the least among key APAC markets in 2019 and 2020, Covid-19 induced lockdown and following limited restrictions resulted in Indians sleeping 18 minutes more between March-August 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.

Also Read: Fitbit's latest software update is exclusive to Sense and Versa 3

For the APAC market, mediation, yoga and pilates saw huge increases in 2020 with meditation, in particular, seeing massive gains in popularity among Fitbit users across the region

Activity levels (steps and active minutes) across the region increased as restrictions eased, but they did not beat the pre-pandemic levels with the exception of Hong Kong, which saw a slight increase in Jun–Aug 2020 compared to the same period the year before. Hong Kong took the most steps in APAC during lockdown (Mar-May 2020) and as restrictions eased (Jun–Aug 2020), replacing Singapore as the country with the highest step count in the region. The Philippines took the fewest steps in APAC in 2020, replacing India at the bottom of the step table for the APAC market. 

Australia and New Zealand continued to lead the region for active minutes achieved, even if they did not lead in overall step count, suggesting a greater level of intentional activity such as exercise.

Most countries saw their lockdown gains in sleep duration reverse as they reopened, with the exception of Australia, which continued to enjoy an increase in sleep duration to 7 hrs 37 mins, a whopping 39 mins higher than the regional average.

The Philippines was the ‘most improved' market when it came to sleep. Increasing by 30 minutes during lockdown, and 25 minutes post-lockdown versus its 2019 sleep averages.

The regional average Resting Heart Rate (RHR) improved during the lockdown and stayed the same even as countries reopened. When compared against 2019 RHR, every single country saw an improvement.

The overall data shows that while users have embraced a more sedentary lifestyle in 2020 with overall activity decreasing, many users have pivoted to more frequent stress-relieving activities.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 30 Oct, 19:39 IST
Tags:
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS